FOR ME D IA SUNDAY, 1 JULY 1979
ELECTORATE TALK
One way or another we are a. 1l affected by the worldwide
energy shortage. Fuel shortages and rising oil prices hit
business, farmners, motorists, home owners, factories. Nobcd;
escapes. At the moment governments around -the world are wrestling ih
the problent of how to stretch a dwindling and preciousrecc.
Demand is outstripping supply.
In Australia we Ihave a firmly established energy pJrograLL.--e czni
during the weak Kevin Newman and myself announcad major
new initiatives, buildina on that policy. Aastralia' s entUra-. y
policy is an example -to the world bocause it gets to the
hoart ofI., the nrbe; and that is, -_ avirig a reali,-' Ci~ c j.
for crude oil.
The choice is simple. Either we pay a realistic price o-* i . o:
get acces; -to adequate sunplies. This week we reaffirm--ed u
commitzment to whbat is called imiport parity pricing for dComzZ*__ Ic
crude oi: l. Countries -without suchl a policy cart hardlyV 7in.:
have art ernerqy policy at all. Without such a i ric: ing polio-.
there is no way rational use can be made of energjy resou-re;.
W1. hat would be the incentive to conserve fuel? What would~ b; e
the incentive -to search for oil? A major ene~ rgy consum er
like the United States has a lower than realistic prnc-1,---en v
use more than t heir f: air share of' a finite worvld resourc:
Therefore, until the United States goes -to worldl parity riw
an important part of the world problem cannot be overcoa~ a.
That is not only our view, but one I believe t~ hat would be
shared in Europe and in Japan.
Wle have been prepared to grasp the rnc tla: and lok L theI r Zs: 6 -1
Pricinq policie& s we have -introduced have already incre-ased ouLr
economically recoverable oil reserves by some' 6O~ r to 700:! dlicn~:~
and revitalized oil search and exploration activity.
Demand for oil throughout the world is outstripping supply.
This is the critical point. There is a worldwide shortage of a. Dout
2 million barrels a day. That gives us a fair idea of t1he
macnitudle of the problem. Clearly then, countries need ~ lc.
that encourage use of alternative forms of energy and roic
that malke ti-eir own supplies of fuels last as long as oiz
That is the crux of the initiativ, es anncluncecI last weekC.
Australia's ent-rgy policy offers tangible incentive for,-all o2
to usa di; fferent*-forftis of nry We havc abundant reserveE; o:
natural gas. 11-o have vast coa. reserves. We are 70 percer-: L
self-suffi. ci. en,, . i oil. TIt is up to us to use these resve
in a son--ible and economnic-waIy That is what. we are excura
2
The steps the. Government announced this week are both imagi. rati-.-
and practical. They give the highost priority to conserving
liquid fuels used in motor transport. I noticed one newspaper.
this week whLich read: " Government Goes for Gas". Perhaps than
is not too much of an exaggeration.
We are actively promoting wider use of LPG fuelled engines.
the removal of the 15 percent sales tax from the conversion unit
there is now a real incentive for motorists to switch from
petrol to LPG. The Government has given the lead by its decisio:
to switch our fleet to LPG wherever feasible. More than 500
Commonwealth vehicles will be running on LPG by 1.980.
Ultimately, up to 15 percent of Australia's motor vehicles co-ld
be powered by gas. It is just plain commonsense.
The decision tnhis week to re: ove the tax of about 2 ceiis : cr
litre presently charged on LPG will mean that LPG is now less
than half the cost of petrol. Take a simple example. A Melbourne
taxi driver can now convert his cab to LPG for something unde:
$ 700 and cover the cost of that conversion within a matter
of months. From then on, his fuel bill is halved.
Every encouragement is being given to LPG suppliers to increase
the number of outlet points. With the co-operation of the-
States and car manufacturers I believe we can conserve up to
nearly 10 percent of our petrol usage. That is a most signiica:-t
saving in the current situation.
Home heating is another area where, as a nation, we can save
oil. All non-fuel space heating appliances used for hous-hol..
purposes and all solar appliances are now exempt from sales ta:.
We hope this will encourage householders to move away from
the now expensive and rare oil heating.
The Government has also taken steps to encourage greater use
of natural gas. The Pipeline Authority will build a 12-inch
pipeline to link the Bass Strait and Cooper Basin gas deposits,
providing an eastern gas pipeline grid.
The Government energy programme has faced reality. We have. ta-. r:
the hard decisions on pricing. Yet at the same time we have
put forward solutions to the problems of conserving fuel an:-
to encouraging alternative energy use. This is a national
problem. The consequences are too great for this nation's
future for political point-scoring or carping criticism.
When there is so much at stake a wholehearted national cor. mu. it.
effort is required, a sense of nationalpurpose. I've no
doubt Australians everywhere understand what we are trying
to achieve.
We all need to start taking conscious decisions about saving
energy. I am sure we have the will, and the commonsense, to
each play a part in meeting our national obligations in an
energy hungry world. 000---